Album sales fall, but online streaming is bright spot

Overall album sales fell in 2013, continuing a downward trend for one traditional measure in the music industry. On the bright side, the industry was boosted by drastic growth in online streaming.

Overall album sales fell to 415.3 million, a 7.7 percent drop from the year before, according to the 2013 report from Nielsen Entertainment and Billboard.

However, there were signs of hope. Music streaming was up 32 percent with 118.1 billion streams on Rhapsody, Spotify, YouTube and other online streaming services in 2013.

And while total album sales fell, vinyl record sales continued to grow with 6.1 million sold in 2013 — up 33 percent from 2012. Digital album sales also increased by 3.5 percent in 2013, with 62.3 million albums sold.

"Despite shifts in how music is consumed, we see continued growth in overall music consumption,” said David Bakula, senior vice president of industry insights for Nielsen Entertainment. “With more than 118 billion streams in 2013 reported by our data providers, which is the approximate revenue equivalent of 59 million albums purchased, the industry remains vibrant as consumption continues to change and expand.”

Country music saw a decline in overall album sales, too, down 10.7 percent from 2012, but the genre set all-time highs in digital sales. Country’s share hit 12.6 percent of digital song sales and 9.6 percent of digital album sales, both of which set records.

Florida Georgia Line’s hit song “Cruise” became the best-selling country song of all time with 6.33 million sales.

Contact music business reporter Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 or nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.